The Drug Enforcement Administration with state and local police raided 13 medical marijuana dispensaries across San Diego on Monday 12 December 2005, in one of the largest crackdowns of its kind in California.[1][2] Officers seized large quantities of marijuana along with computers and patient records, and also raided the home of one dispensary owner.[1][2]
The authorities said the shops were selling marijuana to people without medical need, after a six-month investigation in which undercover agents bought marijuana without proper paperwork.[1][2] DEA Special Agent in Charge John Fernandes called the dispensaries “nothing more than a front for distributing marijuana.”[1][2] Police reported seizing 50 pounds (about 22.68 kg) of marijuana.[2]
One armed man was arrested as he drove up to a dispensary with two pounds of marijuana, and three other people were taken in on outstanding warrants; no other drug arrests were made.[1][2] The search warrants had been issued by California authorities, so any charges would be tried under state law.[2] Patients and activists protested the raids in San Diego and at federal buildings in other cities.[2]
